2018 Raptor Ridge Half Marathon & 15K

Packet Pick-up Location: Packet Pick-up will take place at the starting area. All racers will receive their bib when you check in. Make sure to get your medal when you finish then proceed to the check in tent where you will receive your custom, technical fabric race shirt and race logo pint glass.

$60 – Early Bird through January 14, 2018 ($75 starts January 15, 2018)

$75 – 2/14/2018 at midnight ($82 starts February 15, 2018)

$82 – until race sells out

Refund Policy: There are no refunds….no exceptions. Dirt Devil Racing does allow for bib transfers or distance changes up to 2 weeks prior to the race, however there is a $5 admin fee. You must notify the race director (Drrunco@sdri.net) or your intent to swap the bib. The person taking your bib must also notify the race director (Drrunco@sdri.net) and then go to ultrasignup.com to register. When prompted to pay….DO NOT…proceed to checkout where you will see the balance is $5. If it says anything other than “$5” get off the site and contact Drrunco@sdri.net. If all necessary information is not provided to the race director the bib will be “disqualified” regardless of who runs wearing it. No bib transfers will be accepted after April 1, 2018…….no exceptions.

Prizes/Awards: Prizes provided to Overall Male and Female 1st-3rd and First place Age Group Winners. Please see the Race Prizes Page for more details.

Half Marathon and Progressive Series Pricing
You must sign up for early bird/Tier 1 pricing for each individual race. Sorry but there is not an additional discount or way to sign up for all 4 at once.

You must run all 4 races to be eligible for the series. Run all 4 Half’s or the 5K, 10K, 15K and Half.

***NOTICE: This is a trail race and therefore distances can’t always be exact. Don’t worry, we won’t charge you extra for it. *** It is MANDATORY (HIGHLY SUGGESTED) that all runners carry at minimum 12 oz. hand bottle for hydration. This is a trail race and we are trying to eliminate the use of cups at Aid Stations to truly go green and sustainable. We need you to do your part. We will meet you half way this year … but may go completely green in 2019. So start running with a hand bottle or backpack now! You can score a sweet one at OrangeMud.com

Race Results: Race results will be available at the finish line. Please do not interrupt the professional timing team. Just as you want an accurate time, so do the racers that have yet to finish behind you. All race times and distance placing will be available on the www.DirtDevilRacing.com website no later than the Wednesday after the race and on www.Ultrasignup.com within 24 hours after the race.

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Traveling to San Diego for the Raptor Ridge Half Marathon? San Diego has a long list of great attractions and activities for you and your family to enjoy. If you will be traveling to the race for the weekend here are a few hotels close to the start as well as some places the Dirt Devils love to check out after a run in the area.

Your $10 packet pick up charge does not feel right. I live in Orange County, coming down that morning. Is it really that difficult to have the packet for pick up that morning. Seems like a penalty for those coming from out of town. No wonder the number of races I do each year keeps decreasing. I would have not signed up just for that, but my buddy already registered and I made a commitment to him to race and hang in SD that day. We will have fun, but that $10 just feels cheap.

Probably not the right way to approach the situation Robert. Telling me my organization is “cheap” and “not right” really does not communicate what you are actually trying to convey and immediately puts me into a “defensive” mode. The reason the $10 is there is that if we had to give everyone in the race their bibs and race instructions the morning of we would not be able to start the race on time…I know because I’ve done it. The $10 fee was put in place as a deterrent so that the morning of the race would go more smoothly for everyone allowing the race to start on time and for my race day volunteers to not kill me because of the stress. That being said I really do not need your $10 so if you want to pick up you bib the morning of and not pay the fee just email me at drrunco@sdri.ent and I will put your bib and race shirt aside and you can get it from me on race morning…….free of charge…..no hassle…..no worries.

This is my first half marathon and I am trying to get used to carrying water. Is the power shot or quick shot to small or little of an amount to carry? I think it only holds 6-8 oz. I’ve tried a larger bottle, but it was too cumbersome and drove me nuts. My hand keept sweating. I also don’t like the feeling of something on my hips or back moving. I found it very disruptive. The power shot was the only one I could get used to, but I also don’t want to be stupid either. What are your thoughts?

I would not compare it to it at all. This is a trail race. It is mostly flat with Raptor Ridge gaining 365 feet of elevation at mile 4-5 then you drop down the backside, cruise into the aid station and turn around only to encounter the brooding mountain again. The climb is tough, the views are amazing and the entire course is challenging. The after party is even better.

I understand that registration has closed (and the link to active.com isn’t working). But is there any way I can get registered for this race? I’m a solid competitor and would love enter this challenging race. I’ve got a buddy in it already and one or two that would also like to join.

i just registered on active.com for the run even though registration is supposed to be closed. any way to confirm that i successfully signed up? the status is confirmed on the registration summary page.

Hi Guys,
I tried to look up my name to confirm you have me registered for this race and I show not registered. I have a confirmation that I signed up. Could you verify for me that I am registered.
Thank you,
Michelle

I sent a message to you on Facebook but figured I would ask here as well…are you guys having the same races planned for 2014? If so, when are you planning on announcing the dates? I just moved here in time for Raptor Ridge, but I would love to do the whole series next year.

Me and the rest of the Dirt Devil crew will get together after Raptor Ridge and schedule our dates. We are reorganizing the Half Marathon Animal Series as well as the Summer Grand Slam Beer Series to be less stressful on us. But here is a brief idea of when and where.

That is the goal Gary. We are working feverishly to handle cancellations, add wait-listers, organize the after party and get ready for race bib pick up on Friday and Saturday. Here is the tentative schedule for next year….all races will sell out at least 1 month in advance so………http://www.sdri.net/2013/10/2014-dirt-devil-racing-schedule/

Looking forward to Raptor Ridge Half this Sunday! This will be my 3rd run with you guys. What a great group. I can’t thank you enough for putting on these events! Hats off to the Dirt Devil Racing Team!!!

My husband came down today to pick up my race packet along with my daughters and he was told that I was cancelled. After a lot of arguing someone “allowed” my husband to pick up a packet. I have not cancelled so I don’t understand what happened; but I do know that because of the way the issue was handled, I will NOT run again with this group.

Your husband was rude and inconsiderate to my wife who was trying to help and fix the situation. The registration website, Active.com shows that you cancelled your registration and were issued a refund. During the course of ones work day you might encounter computer errors, human mistakes and other glitches that you try to overcome. Because the Active.com website shows you cancelled and were issued a refund you did not appear on our active roster for the race on Sunday. My wife was attempting to explain to your husband what the situation was when he became both aggressive and rude. Truthfully I asked him to leave and had it been up to me would have not given him your race stuff. My wife on the other hand did give him your stuff and told him you could race regardless if the active.com site that showed you were issued a refund was accurate or not. You certainly have a right to not ever run with our group again but to be clear it was your husband who caused the negative situation

Thank you for your response, I will check the site; but I did not cancel nor did I receive a refund. Although I was not present for the encounter between you and my husband I do apologize for his behavior.

That would appear to be the case. I am going to contact active.com once we can get someone “live” to explain. You are obviously welcome to run Raptor Ridge which was always our intent despite the active.com error

Thanks Mark! i always tell people it is similar to planning a wedding…….9 times a year! We have 400 guests, refreshments and party favors and we want everyone to have a great time. I could never do it without all the Dirt Devil Racing staff and volunteers. We hope to see you at the 2013 Dirt Devil Racing races!

I really enjoyed the race, my first all trail half marathon. I hope the races for 2014 are scheduled for different weekends than the other big half marathons in the San Diego area. I would love to run a lot more of these next year.

This progressive race series was an excellent way to really get into trail racing. I’ve done a bunch of road races, and with this being my first trail 1/2 marathon, I don’t think I’ll be going back to road racing for a long time. I was a little bummed that the Wild Horse 1/2 marathon was moved to June as I was looking for a race to do in January.

Much respect to all the volunteers as well as the race organizer. This was such a great experience that I am planning to do the 1/2 marathon series next year. Keep up the good work!!!

We had to move the January race….besides needing some time off last year was a mud-fest as January is right in the heart of our rain season.
We are stoked that you enjoyed the race and hope you will join us next year Dennis!

You can pick up his award at SDRI between now and Thursday next week. Finishers OVER 21 receive a beer with the race logo that was brewed by Dirt Devil Racing…..we can not give him that but we do have another nice prize for him :)

actually you are not emailing me but using my blog site…..if you want to email me it is drrunco@sdri.net
I personally answered your inquiry on the blog and also emailed you regarding the prize and where to pick it up.
So I will reiterate. You can pick up your sons prizes at San Diego Running Institute. See my website for hours of operation, phone number
and directions http://www.sdri.net/ please call right now and tell us when you are coming so I can personally put the prize package together
so that it is ready for you when you get here.

I agree witht the above Robert F. regarding the $10 penalty feel for picking up the packet on the day of the race. I’m from out of town too, L.A., and paying an additional $10 just doesn’t sit well. I loved your stairway to heaven race but please help on this issue for those of us that come from other counties. Thanks…

it is not a “penalty”. If you run a large city race you would arrive 1-2 days early to pick up your packet at an expo where thousands of vendors will try to sell you there products. They pay the race for this opportunity to market their product at the racers. We also have sponsors but are extremely small as far as employees go. We have the racers pick up their bibs, shirts, and visit with our sponsors so that our sponsors get the opportunity to make you aware of their products and services.
It also makes race day much easier for our very small staff so that on race morning we can concentrate on the race and not what size shirt someone wants, changes in their bib assignments, questions from the runners and other things that can be handled at packet pick up instead of at crunch time race day morning. If we allowed all 400 racers to pick up race day morning I would have to hire more staff which would result in higher registration fees. So i hope you understand the $10 is not a “penalty” but rather a deterrent so that runners pick up their bibs ahead of time which ensures our sponsors get exposure and makes race day much easier on our small staff. That being said if the $10 is a financial hardship for you simply email me at DrRunco@sdri.net and I’ll pay the fee for you

per the website http://www.dirtdevilracing.com/2014-racing-schedule/2014-raptor-ridge-half-marathon/
“Aid Stations: There will be 5 aid stations on the course.”
They are located approximately mile 2, 3.5, 6.5 and then the same stations are present on your way back as it is an out-n-back course. We ask runners to carry at least a water bottle so that in the event something goes wrong or god forbid an aid station runs out of water (it happens even at the huge races like the Boston Marathon) you will have hydration.
See ya at Raptor!

Just looking for a little feedback concerning the course. I would like to run the Raptor Half Marathon, however concerned about the single track trail and the uphill. I’m in the process of completing one half marathon a month for this year. I started actually in December 2013 with the Holiday Half. As for hills, I’ve run the La Jolla Half and then the Safari Half the following week. So I’ve run with hills, and don’t mind the Torrey Pines hill but had to walk part of the Safari Half with the hill. So to my question, is the hill comparable in the Raptor Half to the Safari Half or the La Jolla Half hills? Thanks

mmmmm…..comparable. It is 365 feet gain in about 3/4 miles…..on single track….then you drop down the the other side on double track go about a mile out to the aid station-turnaround then have to climb 365 again! On double track this time and descend the 365 on single track…..good news! The last 4 miles is flat as a pancake though farm fields and a historic battle ground. So if I had to pick I would compare it to the La Jolla Half hill except on trail….and you have to do it 2x.

the first one will be near Pomerado road entrance near the turn towards Raptor Ridge…the second will be on the approach to Raptor Ridge and the third (turn around point) will be near the rock on the other side of Raptor Ridge. Since it is an out an back you hit station #2 again as #4 and station #1 again as #5.

If I run the first 4.5 mile flat portion at a 7:00 min/mile pace, reach the base of RR by 7:33 am (I’m adding in time for aid stations), ascend the 3/4 mile ridge in approximately 8 minutes, make up time down the back side and reach the turnaround by 7:49, eat one gel, and then head back, do you think this will be easier since the way back up RR is wider and I won’t have to fight as many slow pokes? Will the staff refill my bottle for me? One other thing, what type if gels do you offer, and will some be gluten free? I’m trying to decide also if I should run barefoot or in my Skechers. I feel faster barefoot, I don’t want to intimidate any other runners or worry your crew. Just trying to think of others.

I am not going to tell you how to race nor what to wear or not wear on your feet Hector as that is a personal issue. I have no idea if it will be easier on the way back for you as some runners are “second half” runners while others try to PR and blow up. The aid station workers will do their best to help you so if you would like them to refill your water bottle….assuming they can they will. The gels are assorted gels and none are purchased to be specifically Gluten free. If you require special dietary supplements I would encourage you to bring your own. Incidentely the post race party at HESS will not have Gluten Free options as far as I know…….no gluten free beer of food so if you require it please bring it.

Thanks for the advice. I wasn’t even considering how some racers come on stronger in the second half. I’m going to just push myself as hard as I can the whole time, get ahead of the other races and just go hard. I don’t really like the taste of most gluten free gels, I just read they are easier on the stomach. I’m all about any edge I can get. Went in a whole other direction and bought a pair of Hokas, can’t wait to try them out on race day! Hess sounds awesome, I hope they have growlers. Can’t wait to show you guys my best Raptor impression as I cross the finish line : )

I just wanted to thank Dr. Runco, the other organizers of the event, and all the wonderful volunteers who cheered us on on that toasty morning. You are so appreciated!

What impressed and humbled me the most was the encouraging words that came from the first finishers as they were working their way back down, when we were still climbing. Wow. Very cool. It struck me as incredibly generous, and I found it supremely encouraging. A heartfelt thank you to all! I loved doing this first half marathon on trail. I hope to do many more.

Great job as always Dr. Runco. and all your helpers. Can never have to many pint glasses. Love these events and look forward to next years runs. And many thanks to Pat for the Great photos. Much appreciated!!!!!

Hi Dr. Runco. Just wanted to say thanks for a wonderful event. This was my first official half marathon and I enjoyed running it. I had to leave right after I was done. Where can I get the results and perhaps my prize, if I am entitled to getting one. Thanks again.

Hello,
I checked the results for the 2015 Raptor Ridge half marathon and my name wasn’t on the list. My name is Ryan Cornish and my bib number is 72. It should be around the 3 hour mark. I was concerned because I hope the race would count towards the California half series challenge medal. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

bring $90 cash…no checks or credit cards will be taken. See Krista. All info is on the race page but recommend getting to starting area no alter than 6 to sign up, check in etc
post race celebration is at Mike Hess Miramar on Silverton Drive………not North Park as it was last year